Minutes
President
Bollinger convened the meeting of the Faculty of the Arts and Sciences at
1.
President Bollinger began his remarks by indicating how pleased he was
to be here. He indicated that he was
trying to learn as much as he could about Columbia as quickly as he could. He went on the mention space as one of the items
high on his agenda. He acknowledged it as
an acute issue, but believes that there are substantial possibilities for
improving the situation. Over the next
several months, he will begin discussing ways to articulate his intellectual
agenda with the space agenda.
He then went on to report that the searches for the
Provost and the Vice President for Arts and Sciences would be the next focus of
his efforts, now that the inauguration and first meeting of the Board of
Trustees were behind him.
2.
It was moved and seconded that the minutes of the meeting on
3.
The report of the Executive Committee of the Faculty was presented by Professor
Andrew Nathan, ECFAS Chair. He began by
extending a warm welcome to President Bollinger on behalf of the Faculty of the
Arts and Sciences. Professor Nathan
wished him every success, as the President’s success will mean success for the
Arts and Sciences. Professor Nathan also
expressed the deep appreciation of the faculty to Vice President Cohen and
Provost Cole for their outstanding work in securing a faculty of the highest
eminence.
He then indicated that ECFAS had
been meeting and had set its agenda for the year. The following will be the focus of their
activities:
* The search for a Vice President
for the Arts and Sciences will be foremost on the agenda. They have met with faculty, deans and with
President Bollinger about the matter. In
their meeting with President Bollinger, ECFAS assured him of their desire to
assist in any way that will ensure a successful search. ECFAS will work to ensure a structure for the
search process that secures the broadest faculty input.
* Shortly, ECFAS will reach a
conclusion about the pending proposal to establish renewal appointments for
lecturers. They expect to report on its
disposition at the next meeting of the full faculty.
* Other issues that they are
considering include:
--space
--salary equity
--retirement packages
--how the faculty deploys itself to
meet the instructional needs of the students in all six schools
--how faculty contribute to the
co-curricular experiences of students
--exploring ways in which decisions
can be made among competing Arts and Sciences priorities.
4.
Vice President Cohen began his remarks by adding his personal welcome
to President Bollinger.
Vice President Cohen
reported that the FY 02 budget closed in balance. He said that the budget for FY 03 was on plan
and was expected to close as submitted.
He pointed out that there are some very real challenges going forward, however,
given economic externalities. He
reminded faculty that the goal at the time of the April 2002 submission was to
present a balanced budget for only three of the five years (FY 03, FY 04 and FY
05). He also reminded them that this
circumstance is not unique to
5.
Professor Jack Snyder presented the report of the Academic Review
Committee (ARC). He indicated that ARC
is starting its second cycle of reviews of all units in the Arts and Sciences. The first cycle was begun in 1995-96. He noted that ARC is in the process of
completing its reviews of Anthropology, Slavic Languages, Spanish and
Portuguese and the Institute for Research in African-American Studies. During the current year, they will be
reviewing Economics, Mathematics, Physics and the
6.
Vice President Cohen opened discussion of the annual faculty size and
effort report by calling attention to several key items.
* The faculty grew by 15 FTEs in the three
divisions. He commented that he believes
that the faculty is still somewhat undersized.
* The tenure ratio now stands at 66.8%, having edged
downward slightly from the previous year.
He observed that this ratio places
* Average teaching load continues to decline. This, unfortunately, is a national phenomenon. It is likely that there will be more downward
pressure as public institutions are beginning to use reduced teaching load to
recruit and retain faculty in lieu of higher salaries and other financial
incentives.
* The decrease in doctoral enrollments is proceeding as projected
in the Graduate School Enhancement Plan.
Enrollments in masters only programs continue
to grow. Vice President Cohen reminded
the faculty that the tuition from the higher levels of master’s enrollment was
replacing tuition from paying Ph.D.s removed in conjunction with the enhancement
plan.
* The distribution of major and concentrators over the three
divisions has been stable over the past four years. The numbers of majors and concentrators per
faculty member in the social sciences is nearly twice that in the humanities
and natural sciences.
* Class size has been tracked since 1994-95, the first
year in which reliable data were available.
Vice President Cohen pointed out that the profile has remained remarkably
stable over the eight years. 75% of all
classes in the social sciences have enrollments of 25 or fewer. In the humanities, 93% of the classes are of
this size, and in the natural sciences 66% have enrollments of 25 or fewer.
7.
Vice President Cohen opened discussion on the science initiative with
an overview of the process that resulted in the report currently before the
faculty. He indicated that ARC decided
to undertake the comprehensive science planning review based on the conclusion
that strength in the sciences will be critical in the coming decade. ARC also thought that it was essential to
bring the sciences to the same level of historical excellence as has existed in
the humanities. Recent gains in
reclaiming the past stature of the social sciences have made the need to take
action in the sciences even more pointed.
Vice President Cohen then highlighted the key findings of the review.
* It was concluded that
* It is estimated that it will require approximately $700
million to reach this goal. The
resources must be incremental so as not to compromise existing strengths in the
humanities and social sciences.
* Efforts should be made to foster increased interaction around
scientific topics across Arts and Sciences departments, including in areas that
would involve the humanities and social sciences.
* The expanded science initiative must include collaborative
endeavors between the Health Sciences campus and the Morningside campus.
Vice President Cohen described the follow-on activities
that have taken place since ARC released its report. The Arts and Sciences deans discussed
it. It was also discussed by the
faculties of each of the nine natural sciences departments. Vice President Cohen then met with the nine
chairs and then with the group as a whole.
The report was subsequently presented to ECFAS and to all 29
departmental chairs, and it is now being brought to the full faculty for
discussion.
In response to a question from the floor inquiring about
the extent to which the Health Sciences was a formal participant in the
process, Vice President Cohen reported that efforts were made on an informal
basis to articulate the science planning initiative of the Arts and Sciences with
the strategic planning efforts of the Health Sciences. Vice President Fischbach met with the external
team and provided written input into the review process. Provost Cole cited the review as an exemplar
of a comprehensive planning process and assured the faculty that its
recommendations are being integrated into ongoing space and other priority
setting efforts within the broader university.
Several other faculty commented
from the floor on the report. One noted
that it could be a very valuable process for the social sciences, and another
expressed the wish that such a review might have already been done so that it
would have been possible to weigh all of the possibilities. Another faculty member asked how debt and
fundraising would be harnessed to underwrite this endeavor, and yet another
reminded the group of the need to address the space needs if the recommended
hiring is to be possible. In response to
a question about how this plan might be phased over the ten-year period imagined
in the report, Vice President Cohen indicated that the next step must be to lay
out the staging and broader implementation steps.
President Bollinger also spoke to the topic. He cited the report as an excellent base and
assured the faculty that it will be incorporated as part of
his own more comprehensive planning for the university. He acknowledged that it is important to
respect all of the various core disciplines while simultaneously providing
opportunities for cross-disciplinary initiatives. He alerted faculty that the budgetary
realities are such that the $700 million cannot be forthcoming as a single
amount. That doesn’t mean, however, that
the institution cannot begin to move forward.
The necessary dollars will be found through the vehicles of classic
fundraising and a capital campaign he expects to launch at some point, and through
resources from
Vice President Cohen expressed the thanks of the Arts and
Sciences to Charles Tilly and his committee of Robert
Somerville and John Morgan for the extraordinary leadership they provided for
this effort.
Dean Quigley then rose to provide background on the
undergraduate education component of the science initiative. He indicated that he was speaking on behalf
both the College and General Studies regarding the general science requirement
that will be required of all undergraduates.
He noted that the proposed science core course was consistent with the
purpose of the broader Core as it was first articulated in 1919. He noted the important inter-relationships
between general education and departmental majors and acknowledged that the
question of how to do general education in science had long been a curricular
challenge. He reported that the course
that is being created by the faculty is one in which both general and specific
science knowledge will be taught.
David Helfand gave a summary of the course as it is
currently evolving. He indicated that
the faculty had spent the last 18 months developing the model. The course is designed to replace the one-semester
science course that GS and College students are currently required to
take. All students will take the new
science core course in their first year in the semester in which they are not
taking the undergraduate writing course.
The course is designed to introduce students to the
current frontiers of science and to inculcate in them the scientific modes of
thought. It will consist of 14 lectures
(three on each of 5 topics, to be followed by weekly discussion sections). The course is being piloted this year.
In response to a question from the floor regarding the
way in which students will develop scientific technical skills through this
model, Professor Helfand noted that there will be an associated web component
with rich hyperlinks that will give students experience with modes of scientific
inquiry. Further, students will still be
required to take the currently-required year-long sequence courses. The hope is that they will become excited by
the lectures and pursue additional coursework, going into depth in the topics
introduced in the core course.
8.
President Bollinger introduced Susan Feagin, Robert Kasdin and June
Massell to the faculty and encouraged faculty to reach out and get to know
these newest members of the community.
9. Under New Business, Professor Rebay
rose to speak to the need for a review of the
President Bollinger by
consensus adjourned the meeting at
Prepared
by
Roxie R. Smith
Associate Vice President